From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
High School Musical is an
Emmy Award-winning
American television film. Released on
January 20,
2006, it is one of the most successful
Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOM) produced, with a television
sequel released on
August 17,
2007 and a feature film
sequel in the planning process.
[2] The film's
soundtrack was the best-selling album in the United States for 2006.
[3] The film was shot almost entirely in the
Wasatch Front in
Utah (namely
Salt Lake City and
Murray).
With a plot described as a modern retelling of
Romeo & Juliet,
[4][5] High School Musical is a story of two
high school juniors from rival
cliques[6][7][8]: Troy Bolton (
Zac Efron), captain of the
basketball team, and Gabriella Montez (
Vanessa Hudgens), a beautiful and shy transfer student who excels in
math and
science. Together, they try out for the lead parts in their high school
musical, and as a result, divide the school. Despite other students' attempts to thwart their dreams, Troy and Gabriella resist peer pressure and rivalry, inspiring others along the way not to "stick with the status quo."
This was
Disney Channel's most successful movie at its time with 7.7 million viewers in its premiere broadcast in the US. In the UK, it received 789,000 viewers for its premiere (and 1.2 million viewers overall during the first week), making the film the most watched program for the Disney Channel (UK) of 2006. It was also the first ever
Disney Channel Original Movie to be broadcast on the
BBC on
December 29,
2006. On
August 16,
2007 ratings went slightly up to 6.0 million viewers.
[9]//
Cast
Zac Efron as
Troy Bolton: the male
protagonist of the story and the captain of the East High Wildcats basketball team. His best friend is Chad Danforth. At a New Years party at a ski resort, he is pressured into singing "
Start of Something New" with Gabriella Montez; prior to that, he had only sung in the shower.
[10] Troy is torn between basketball and singing; he wants to sing with Gabriella, the girl he has a crush on, but his teammates push him away from it with peer pressure and even trickery because they are worried that his pursuit of singing will affect their chances at winning the championship game. Troy is also the Wildcat captain, a star player and the son of basketball coach Jack Bolton (
Bart Johnson). Troy also enjoys snowboarding. Troy and Chad have known each other since preschool.
Vanessa Hudgens as
Gabriella Montez: the female
protagonist, who has a secret crush on Troy. She is a shy and a very intelligent student who has just changed schools. She originally meets Troy at a New Years party when they are forced to sing a karaoke duet. She meets him again when she moves to the same school as Troy in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is reluctant to let everybody know of her past achievements, but soon everybody finds out through the internet that she has won numerous Scholastic Competitions. She had previously been in a
church choir, but passed out after having everybody stared at her while singing solo. She and Troy audition for their high school musical, get a callback, and then win the lead parts for the winter musical. She also helps East High win the
Scholastic Decathlon award.
Ashley Tisdale as
Sharpay Evans: the
antagonist of
High School Musical. She is an arrogant person who always wants her way. She has a domineering personality and likes to be in control even of her twin brother Ryan. She auditions with him for the winter school musical against Troy and Gabriella. When she discovers that Troy and Gabriella have a callback, she changes the callback date in order to make sure that Troy and Gabriella fail to get the leads. The plan however fails with the aid of Taylor and Chad. Sharpay ends up being the understudy for Gabriella, and in the end, wishes Gabriella
good luck by telling her to
break a leg. Chad, at one point, calls Sharpay and Ryan "show dogs"; the
Shar Pei, a
homophone of Sharpay, is a kind of dog. She also refers to famous
Broadway songwriter Stephen Sondheim by calling Kelsi "my sawed-off Sondheim". Despite her resentment of Troy and Gabriella taking the lead from her in the school musical, she seems to have a small crush or interest in Troy, and feels somewhat jealous of Gabriella. At the end of
High School Musical, she seems to at least get along with Troy and Gabriella. However, in
High School Musical 2, she reverts to hating Gabriella and develops an interest for Troy.
Lucas Grabeel as
Ryan Evans: the
twin brother and acting partner of Sharpay Evans, with whom he has starred in seventeen school productions to date. In
High School Musical, both Ryan and his sister function as antagonists, while in
High School Musical 2, he becomes a protagonist. Ryan is an excellent dancer and singer, tending to lean toward high-energy, upbeat songs and expressive choreography, often to the point of absurdity. He has a much more highly developed sense of fashion than most East High students, wearing button down shirts and slacks and topping each outfit with some type of floppy hat. The hats are one of Ryan's most notable features; he wears over twenty different ones throughout the two films. In
High School Musical, both Ryan and his sister funk it up as
antagonists, attempting to keep Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez from winning the lead roles in the school's winter musical,
Twinkle Towne. In spite of a few moments where Ryan appears annoyed by Sharpay's domineering attitude, he accepts her leadership unquestioningly throughout the film.
Corbin Bleu as
Chad Danforth: a member of the East High Wildcats team and Troy's best friend. He seems to be extremely devoted to basketball. Initially, he is a little
snobby, selfish, and unsupportive of Troy's auditioning for the musical. He thinks that a musical is not meant for basketball players. However, he realizes later that singing is something that Troy really enjoys and so Chad lends his support to his best friend's audition endeavor. After teaming up with Taylor McKessie to pull Troy and Gabriella apart, and then to put them back together, he asks her out. In
High School Musical 2, he develops a friendship with Ryan Evans.
Monique Coleman as
Taylor McKessie: the leader of East High's science club, which competes in the Scholastic decathlon. She befriends Gabriella when she arrives to the school and convinces her to join the Scholastic Club. Initially, she tries to stop Gabriella from singing, but eventually, she ends up supporting her. She has a strong dislike for athletes including Troy Bolton, stating that they "contribute nothing to society other than slam dunks and touchdowns." However, her opinion of athletes changes over time. Chad Danforth asks her out by the end of the film and she accepts to go out with him.
Alyson Reed as
Miss Darbus: the drama teacher at East High. She is an advocate of theater and has a strong dislike for cell phones and activities like sports. She often gets into arguments with her nemesis, Coach Bolton, and has very little to practically no knowledge of basketball.
Bart Johnson as
Coach Jack Bolton: the Wildcats' coach and Troy's father. He is a former champion Wildcats player, and expects his son to follow his example. He has had numerous intense arguments with Ms. Darbus and is upset over his son's decision to pursue theater, but then he eventually comes around. Similarly, he disapproves of Troy's relationship with Gabriella because he feels it may interfere with his basketball tournament.
Olesya Rulin as
Kelsi Nielsen: a pianist and the composer of the
Twinkle Towne musical. She is very eager to assist Troy and Gabriella as they prepare for callbacks. Initially, Kelsi is shown lacking confidence; however, by the end of the movie, she stands up to Sharpay. Troy calls her the
playmaker to build her confidence. She has a crush on Jason.
Chris Warren, Jr. as
Zeke Baylor: a member of the Wildcats team, who secretly enjoys baking and has a crush on Sharpay.
Ryne Sanborn as
Jason Cross: a member of the Wildcats team, who hangs out with Chad and Zeke and develops a crush on Kelsi.
Sean Soltys as
Sam Diaz: a friend of Zac's who was present during the karaoke scene dancing in the background.
Kaycee Stroh as
Martha Cox: a brainiac who secretly loves hip-hop and is friends with Gabriella, Kelsi and Taylor.
Socorro Herrera as
Mrs. Montez: Gabriella's mother. Although she is never shown to have a strong feeling of approval or disapproval of Gabriella's singing, she is shown to support her daughter at the end of the movie. She also approves of Gabriella's relationship with Troy.
Synopsis
East High Basketball star Troy Bolton and math-whiz Gabriella Montez meet at a
New Year's Eve party at a
ski lodge over
Christmas Break. Here, they take part in a
karaoke contest and sing "Start of Something New". They discover they have a great chemistry between them and end up exchanging numbers. A week later, Gabriella's mother is transferred and Gabriella begins classes at East High in Albuquerque, New Mexico where Troy sees her in homeroom. After making sure that it is her on his cell phone, Troy accidentally gets
detention, along with Gabriella, his best friend and teammate Chad Danforth, scholastic decathlon captain, and soon-to-be best friend of Gabriella, Taylor McKessie, and Drama Club co-presidents Ryan and Sharpay Evans.
After homeroom, Troy and Gabriella see each other again and as they start talking near the sign-up sheet for the winter musical auditions, Sharpay sees them and assumes that Gabriella is interested in signing up. With Ryan's help, Sharpay determines that Gabriella is an "
Einsteinette", and puts an article of her previous academic achievements into Taylor's locker. During detention, Taylor approaches Gabriella and invites her to join the school's scholastic decathlon team. Due to their detention, both Troy and Chad miss their basketball practice, much to the annoyance of Coach Bolton. During a confrontation between the coach and Ms. Darbus, it is made clear that neither of them has any real respect for the work that the other does. Troy eventually takes part in basketball practice, but he cannot seem to stop thinking about Gabriella ("
Get'cha Head in the Game").
Troy skips basketball practice during free period to go for the auditions, which Gabriella also attends. However, both are too shy to come forward, so they hide behind a janitorial rolling cart as Sharpay and Ryan perform their version of "
What I've Been Looking For". When Gabriella finally decides to audition, Troy offers to sing with her, but Ms. Darbus says it is too late.
After a confrontation with Sharpay, Kelsi Nielsen, the
composer of the musical, trips and drops her notes and piano music. Troy and Gabriella rush to help her, and she offers to let them hear how the song was originally supposed to sound. Troy and Gabriella then sing the slower version of the song, "What I've Been Looking For". Ms. Darbus hears them from behind the
auditorium entrance and gives both Troy and Gabriella a
callback. The next day, Sharpay sees the callback sheet and is furious. Once Chad and all the basketball players find out that Troy skipped basketball practice to audition for the musical, they are all shocked.
At lunch, everyone learns that Troy is doing something way out of a basketball players' nature, and the students start confessing their secret passions and talents ("
Stick to the Status Quo"), including basketball player Zeke Baylor's love for baking. At that moment, Gabriella slips and accidentally spills her lunch all over Sharpay's shirt. Sharpay tells Ms. Darbus that Gabriella did it on purpose and tries to convince her that Troy and Gabriella are trying to destroy the musical.
Troy asks Gabriella to meet him at his secret hideout, the balcony of a
greenhouse. There, she reveals that singing with him at the party was like meeting a new friend at kindergarten; she felt that he was like a best friend, although she hardly knew him. Meanwhile, Zeke attempts to talk to Sharpay, who says that she would rather stick pins in her eyes than watch Zeke play basketball.
Chad and Taylor decide that they need to devise a plan so that everything returns to normal. The basketball team tricks Troy into saying that Gabriella is not too important while she watches them through a
wi-fi link. Gabriella is hurt and confused about where she and Troy now stand ("
When There Was Me and You"). Troy tries to talk to Gabriella, but she tells him that she is not interested in taking part in the musical anymore and that it was never important to her.
After feeling guilty about ruining Troy and Gabriella's friendship, and noticing that they are no longer interested in the basketball game or the decathlon, Chad and Taylor decide to tell them the truth. Chad, Zeke, and Jason explain everything to Troy in the greenhouse and offer to support him at the callbacks. Taylor and the scholastic decathlon team tell Gabriella what they did, but she is still angry and hurt because of what Troy said, convinced that he meant it. That night, Troy goes to her house, but she pretends to be busy with homework. He then calls on her cellphone from her backyard, telling her that the guy she met on vacation is much more like him than the guy that "said those stupid things". He climbs onto her balcony and starts singing the harmony of "Start of Something New" in an attempt to persuade her to attend the callbacks with him. Gabriella then forgives him, and together with Kelsi, they start practicing for the callback at school.
Soon, Sharpay and Ryan overhear Gabriella and Troy practicing, and feel intimidated by the competition. Together, they convince Ms. Darbus to change the callbacks to the same time as the basketball championship and scholastic decathlon. Kelsi overhears their conversation with Mrs. Darbus, and when she tells everyone about this, they are devastated. However, the scholastic decathlon, the basketball teams and Kelsi work together to come up with a plan.
On the D-day itself, Taylor and Gabriella send a code by computer into the system to disrupt the basketball game by shutting down the scoreboard, and boiling a hazardous chemical to stall the decathlon.
As Troy and Gabriella then rush to the theater, Sharpay and Ryan finish performing their song, "
Bop to the Top", confident that they will get the part. Troy and Gabriella show up after Ms. Darbus has called their names twice, and she tells them again that they are too late. Many other students start streaming into the auditorium to support them and Ms. Darbus has no choice but to allow them to perform "
Breaking Free." Gabriella freezes when she sees everyone staring at her, but Troy tells her to look only at him, and she finds the courage to sing. After they sing, Troy kisses Gabriella on the cheek. In the end, Ms. Darbus decides to award the lead roles to Troy and Gabriella, making Sharpay and Ryan understudies (and at the basketball game, Sharpay accepts her defeat and tells Gabriella to "break a leg"). After winning both the scholastic decathlon and the basketball game with Troy's last minute shot, (to which Troy and Gariella tried to actually kiss, but were interrupted by Chad) the entire school gathers in the gym to celebrate ("
We're All in This Together").
After the celebrations, Sharpay finds Zeke alone in the gym and tells him that the cookies he made are the best things she has ever tasted. Zeke answers (quite suggestively) that he might even make her
crème brûlée.
Musical numbers
Song Chiefly Sung By Other Singers Scene
| Start of Something New | Troy and Gabriella | (Drew Seeley's voice was blended with Zac's)[11] | During the New Year's Eve party |
| Get'cha Head in the Game | Troy and Chad | Troy's singing performed entirely by Drew Seeley, Other Basketball Players | In the gym during basketball practice |
| What I've Been Looking For | Ryan and Sharpay | N/A | At the auditions |
| What I've Been Looking For (Reprise) | Troy and Gabriella | Troy's singing performed entirely by Drew Seeley, Kelsi | After the auditionees have left |
| Stick to the Status Quo | Zeke, Basketball Players, Martha, Brainiacs, Skater Dudes, Ryan, and Sharpay | Company | In the lunch room |
| When There Was Me and You | Gabriella | N/A | Through the school hallways |
| Bop to the Top | Ryan and Sharpay | N/A | At the final auditions |
| Breaking Free | Troy and Gabriella | (Drew Seeley's voice was blended with Zac's) | At the final auditions |
| We're All in This Together | Troy, Gabriella, Ryan, Sharpay, Chad, Taylor | Company | At the end of the film |
Release dates
Country Channel Date
United States | Disney Channel | January 20, 2006 |
Canada | Family Channel | January 20, 2006 |
Australia,
New Zealand Seven Network/Disney Channel Australia | June 10, 2006 |
Asia | Disney Channel Asia | June 25, 2006 |
Brazil | Disney Channel Brazil | July 30, 2006 |
Latin America | Disney Channel Latin America | August 6, 2006 |
Germany | Disney Channel Germany | September 6, 2006 |
Scandinavia | Disney Channel Scandinavia | September 8, 2006 |
Middle East | Disney Channel Middle East | September 8, 2006 |
France | Disney Channel France | September 19, 2006 |
United Kingdom | Disney Channel UK | September 22, 2006 |
India | Disney Channel India | September 24, 2006 |
Portugal | Disney Channel Portugal | September 30, 2006 |
Italy | Disney Channel Italy | September 30, 2006 |
Spain | Disney Channel Spain | September 30, 2006 |
Taiwan | Disney Channel Taiwan | October 7, 2006 |
Chile | Canal 13 | November 17, 2006 |
South Africa | Disney Channel | October 2006 |
The Netherlands | Jetix/Veronica | December 25, 2006 |
Hong Kong
(Terrestrial) TVB Pearl | December 25, 2006 |
Malaysia
(Terrestrial) TV3 | November 26, 2006 |
Republic of Ireland | RTE Two | December 27, 2006 |
United Kingdom
(Terrestrial) BBC One/BBC HD | December 29, 2006 |
Poland | TVP 1 | December 30, 2006 |
Scotland
(Terrestrial) BBC One Scotland | December 31, 2006 |
Belgium
(Dutch version) Eén | December 31, 2006 |
Hungary | TV2 | January 1, 2007 |
Belgium
(French version) RTL TVI | January 1, 2007 |
Denmark | TV2 | January 7, 2007 |
Philippines
(Terrestrial) Studio 23 ABS-CBN | June 16, 2007 December 23, 2007 |
Singapore
(Terrestrial) MediaCorp TV Channel 5 | July 29, 2007 |
China | CCTV-6 | August 18, 2007 |
Israel | Jetix | August 29, 2007 |
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released on
January 10,
2006 and debuted at number 133 on the
Billboard 200, selling 7,469 copies in its first week. In the album's third week, for the chart dated
February 11,
2006, it climbed to number ten, and has since risen to number one on the Billboard 200 twice (on
March 1 and
March 22) and had shipped 3.8 million copies on
December 5,
2006. Out of those copies, more than 3 million copies have been sold by August 2006; it was
certified quadruple platinum by the
RIAA.
The soundtrack was released in
Australia on
May 27,
2006 by
EMI. In the album's seventh week, it reached the number one position on Australia's
ARIA Album Charts for the week dated
July 31,
2006 and has been certified
platinum, selling 70,000 units in total. The single, "Breaking Free", debuted in the UK Official Top 75, at Number 45 on
September 24,
2006 on downloads alone. Upon its physical release, its peak position was #9.
[12]In
India, unlike other countries that aired the movie, the songs were
dubbed in
Hindi.
[13] In
South Africa, the soundtrack was released on the
November 13,
2006, at a few major CD stores, selling every copy in its first week.
On
May 23,
2006, the same day the DVD came out,
Walt Disney Records released a Special Edition of the album featuring a bonus disc with eight karaoke tracks of "Start of Something New", "Get'cha Head In The Game", "What I've Been Looking For", "When There Was Me And You", "Bop to the Top", "Breaking Free", "We're All In This Together" and "I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You" (which was edited out from the movie). The Special Edition also comes with a fold out locker poster of Troy and Gabriella on one side and a movie poster on the other.
Contributions
The song "We're All In This Together" by the cast was featured on the album,
Radio Disney Party Jams. The song "When There Was Me And You" was featured on the album
Girl Next.
DVDs
The
DVD of the movie was released on
May 23,
2006 under the title,
High School Musical: Encore Edition. It created a sales record when 1.2 million copies were sold in its first six days, making it the fastest-selling television movie of all time.
[14] It is, however, the second DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie) on DVD to be certified Platinum in DVD sales, the first being
The Cheetah Girls.The
High School Musical DVD was also released in Australia on
July 12,
2006 through
Walt Disney and was released on European Region 2 on
December 4,
2006 where it went on to reach number one in the
UK DVD charts. It was also shown on Disney Channel South Africa, the latest Disney channel at that time in the southern hemisphere. It was the top selling DVD in Australia in
August 2006. In addition, the Region 3 DVD was released on
October 10 in
Hong Kong. It also released in
Taiwan on
December 15,
2006. This is the first Region 3 DCOM DVD ever released. It was released in Mexico on
November 10 and in
Brazil on
December 6 to coincide with Christmas and the
Globo broadcast of the movie.
- The DVD Includes:
- Original and sing-along Versions
- Bring It All Together (The Making of High School Musical)
- I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You music video
- We're All In This Together music video
- Dance Along (Bop To The Top)
The Remix Edition, a 2-disc Special Edition, was released on
December 5,
2006.
[15].The Remix DVD was released in France on June 20, 2007.
[16] and in Germany on September 13, 2007.
[17] The Remix DVD was released in the UK on September 10, 2007.
[18] - The DVD Includes:
- Original and sing-along Versions
- Bring It All Together (The Making of High School Musical)
- I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You music video
- We're All In This Together music video
- Dance Along (Bop To The Top, Get Cha' Head In The Game & We're All In This Together)
- Breaking Free (Remix) music video
- We're All In This Together (Remix) music video
- Cast Interviews
- Behind the Scenes Features on the Hollywood premiere.
Despite being filmed in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio, both the original and Remix Edition DVD releases featured a 1.33:1 "full screen" version (though not
pan and scan as the camera stays directly in the center of the image), the format of the film as shown on the Disney Channel. The widescreen and high definition versions have subsequently been showing in the UK on BBC One, BBC Two, and BBC HD.
[19]Other media
Concert tour
The
High School Musical: The Concert tour began on
November 29, 2006 kicking off in
San Diego, California. The tour continued until
January 28, 2007 playing in major cities around the
United States,
Canada and
Latin America. The concert featured all of the original cast members except for Zac Efron (who was busy shooting
Hairspray), who was replaced by
Drew Seeley. The concert featured the original songs from the movie, as well as showcase songs from Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Corbin Bleu who all now have solo material.
Stage musical
High School Musical at
Rhyl Pavillion Theatre.
On
August 1,
2006,
Playbill announced that the
Stagedoor Manor summer
theater camp, featured in the movie
Camp, would be the first venue to produce
High School Musical on-stage.
North Shore Music Theater in
Beverly, MA had a stage production of
High School Musical running until the end of
July 2007, featuring
Broadway actor
Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Kate Rockwell, a semi-finalist on
Grease: You're the One that I Want!, as Sharpay.
Differences between the movie and stage show
- The stage musical includes two new songs, "Counting On You" and "Cellular Fusion". There is a song during the audition scene entitled "Auditions" which combines the two songs, "Bop to the Top" and "What I've Been Looking For" in a large ensemble number with many solos. There are two "Wildcat Cheers" as well. A megamix was also added at the finale, which combined all of the songs.
- Jack Scott, the school announcer, joins the cast of characters and acts as the narrator of the play.
- Former extra song, "I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" has been added to the main repertoire, with slightly altered lyrics and without featuring Sharpay and Ryan.
- Jason Cross' part is significantly smaller in the play than in the movie. He has only one line, and does not end up with Kelsi unlike Jack Scott, who does.
- Martha Cox, the brainiac who loves hip-hop, and Zeke Baylor, the basketball player who loves to bake, have slightly larger roles and multiple solos. Kelsi Nielsen's role is also slightly larger, and she has solos.
- Mrs. Montez, Mrs. Bolton, and the principal (who appear in the movie) are no longer in the stage show due to changes in the plot.
- Many of the songs have different tunes and different parts added to them. Many previous solos or duets are now large ensemble numbers.
- "Start of Something New" now includes the entire cast, as the scene shifts away from the New Year's flashback and everyone sings about New Year's resolutions.
- "Stick to the Status Quo" now includes Gabriella, Troy, Jack Scott, Kelsi, and the "rebels" singing their own backup part, saying, "Don't stick to the status quo".
- "When There Was Me and You" is now a duet between Troy and Gabriella, with the ensemble singing as backup vocals.
- "We're All in This Together" now has a reprise, and the original features Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, Jack, Martha and Zeke.
- "Bop to the Top" is no longer a duet, but a large ensemble number featuring the brainiacs, jocks, and Ryan and Sharpay. "Breaking Free" also becomes an ensemble number.
- The balcony scene, as well as Troy’s exchange with Mrs. Montez, was cut out of the plot, and the "Start of Something New" reprise now takes place at school.
- Troy and Gabriella share a kiss at the end of the play, while in the movie, they do not. However, in the sequel to the movie, they do kiss.
- Mrs. Darbus and Mr. Bolton have considerably more lines. In some plays, however, Mr. Bolton also sings a few lines.
- Ryan and Sharpay are given a bit more depth in their characters.
- Supporting characters Taylor McKessie and Chad Danforth are more prominent in songs, while in the movie neither character has any solos.
- The name of the spring musical in the movie, Twinkle Towne, changes to Juliet and Romeo in the stage adaptation. Ironically, both the movie and stage play are a modern re-telling of Romeo & Juliet.
Professional stage tour
As of 2008, the professional stage version is touring sixty sites. The tour began in the summer of 2007 with previews at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit followed by the historic
Academy of Music at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. The national tour officially opened on
August 1,
2007 at Chicago's LaSalle Bank Theatre. Unlike the concert tour, this production does not feature any cast members from the movie.
Ice tour
As confirmed on the
Disney on Ice official website, Feld Entertainment is producing
High School Musical on Ice. The United States tour kicked off on
August 31,
2007. The cast
[20] includes
2004 World Junior Bronze Medalist Jordan Brauninger and
2004-2005 Australian national champion Bradley Santer.
Book series
In
June 2006,
Disney Press published
High School Musical: the Junior Novel, the novelization of the successful film. This novel hit number one on the
New York Times best-selling list and remained on the list for sixteen weeks.
[21] As of
August 2007, the novel has sold more than 4.5 million copies, with 1 million copies of the novel's follow-up,
High School Musical 2: The Junior Novel, being shipped to American retailers.
[22] Shortly after the success of the original novel, Disney announced that a book series, entitled
Stories From East High, would be published in February 2007 with a new book being published every 60 days until July 2008. A complete list of books is provided below:
Novels
- High School Musical: the Junior Novel (June 1, 2006)
- High School Musical 2: the Junior Novel (August 14, 2007)
- High School Musical 3: the Junior Novel (October 2008)
Stories From East High
- Battle of the Bands by N.B. Grace (January 16, 2007)
- Wildcat Spirit by Catherine Hapka (March 20, 2007)
- Poetry in Motion by Alice Alfonsi (May 22, 2007)
- Crunch Time by N.B. Grace (July 31, 2007)
- Broadway Dreams by N.B. Grace (September 25, 2007)
- Heart to Heart by Helen Perelman (November 27, 2007)
- Friends 4Ever? by Catherine Hapka (February 26, 2008)
- Get Your Vote On! by Alice Alfonsi (April 22, 2008)
Activity Books
- High School Musical Trivia & Quiz Book: Expert Edition by Emma Harrison (September 25, 2007)
Box Sets
- Wildcats Box Set (August 7, 2007)
-
- Includes the first four Stories From East High titles
Video games
The game is about the High School Musical friends traveling across America in a competition, hoping to win the
"The American Amateur Musical" title. With the help of Troy and the others, they will show that they have what it takes to win the competition. The release date was originally set for
August 14,
2007 for the
Nintendo DS,
Wii, and
Playstation 2. The release date was later delayed to
November 7,
2007.
Television
- TV Azteca in Mexico and Canal 13 in Argentina, rights holders of High School Musical in their respective countries, announced that they started casting for a reality show, in which the winners would star in a joint Mexican / Argentinan version of the film. The series, named High School Musical, The Selection, is being co-produced by TV Azteca, Canal 13 and Disney.
- In the UK, Disney channel is shooting a music video with members of the public who auditioned at one of their touring star bus destinations. The successful candidates will also feature in a one off reality TV show.[23]
- Also, in an episode of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody titled "Lip Synchin' in the Rain", Bauckner Middle School sets up a stage-production of High School Musical. Maddie (Tisdale) auditions for the role of Sharpay but loses the role to London. Cody auditions for Troy and aces the role. Zack, however, is a stagehand. Mark Indelicato from Ugly Betty guest stars as Antonio. The episode includes the songs "Get'cha Head in the Game", "What I've Been Looking For" and "Bop to the Top" (The first two songs were never seen nor heard; However, they were featured in a short cameo).
- The movie was spoofed on a sketch on MADtv, where the characters discuss their personal likings and problems, similar to "Stick with the Status Quo", except that the jokes were more explicit. One such example was Ryan running in and announcing that he was gay, with everyone else responding, "We know!"
Documentary
In June 2007, Oscar winning director Barbara Kopple spent six weeks in Fort Worth filming the development of a high school production of High School Musical for the Disney Channel. The result, called
"High School Musical: The Music in You" will be aired in twelve segments, each of two minute duration and a twenty-two minute documentary. The project highlights the achievements of drama teachers Julia Worthington and Ann Hunter and a talented group of drama students and first-time actors.
Awards
See also
References
External links
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